From Seabourn to "mainstream" (Celebrity or Princess)

[jenidallas]

I have only cruised with Seabourn so I do not have the personal perspective of what the mainstream lines are like. But I have a convention scheduled in Seattle in July and have decided that it might be a good time to cruise Alaska. My TA has walked through all the options and the itineraries that make the most sense to me are on either Celebrity or Princess.

 

I've been reading both of their forums but I am having a hard time getting a good comparison in my head of the lines as they compare against Seabourn (and each other). The itineraries are nearly identical and for comparative purposes, either a balcony on Princess or Concierge/Suite on Celebrity.

 

What is food/beverage like on either (compared to Seabourn)? (My TA says we'd get a comped Classic Beverage package on Celebrity)?

 

How collegial is the experience? (ie ease of meeting other passengers)

 

What's the "atmosphere" like? (announcements, lines, crowds, etc.)

 

I recognize that neither will be "the Seabourn experience" so I don't have that expectation - but knowing where I will enjoy myself more makes a big difference so any experienced opinions are appreciated!!!

[Jim Avery]

we have sailed Seabourn and SeaDream a number of times and love them. In October we sailed the Star Princess and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you do go "mainstream" book a full suite, not the mini-suite. Full Suite pax get lots of perks and priority boarding, tendering, etc. It was a very nice experience. Also, the suite puts Seabourn (and especially SeaDream) to shame space wise. Our Suite Steward was the best we have had on any ship. Excellent. Do not expect to meet people as easily as on the smaller ships. We had no problem with lines, crowding, announcements. Plenty of spaces to get away plus your very large veranda on the suite. Food is best described as good banquet food. Nothing wrong with it but just do not expect the Seabourn dining experience, even in the specialty venues. Service was very good though for us in all venues. We enjoyed it and booked Pacific Princess for next May in Alaska. In a 956 sq ft aft suite. But are leaving in the morning for SeaDream in Costa Rica. I guess you can say we go both ways.:eek::D:D

[wripro]

It's all about expectations. If you go from the George V in Paris to a Hilton you can enjoy both as long as you don't expect the same thing.

[jenidallas]

Thanks! It looks the ships "in play" would be either Celebrity Century, Celebrity Solstice, Pacific Princess, Grand Princess, or Golden Princess.

 

I am figuring any "in room" time other than sleeping would be spent on a balcony. That's good to know about extra perks for suites! I just don't have the frame of reference to compare these.

 

My friends who have sailed either line have raved about the good but none of them have Seabourn as a comparison point. If you do anytime dining, are they good about pairing you up with suitable dining companions or is that touch lacking?

[Jim Avery]

We booked Pacific Princess in AK partly because it only carries 680 passengers max. The suites are larger and the food is supposedly superior to the Grand Class ships. Pacific Princess was originally one of the 8 "R-Ships" of Regency Cruises. When in doubt, we always choose the smaller ship.

[Mr Luxury]

Thanks! It looks the ships "in play" would be either Celebrity Century, Celebrity Solstice, Pacific Princess, Grand Princess, or Golden Princess.

 

I am figuring any "in room" time other than sleeping would be spent on a balcony. That's good to know about extra perks for suites! I just don't have the frame of reference to compare these.

 

My friends who have sailed either line have raved about the good but none of them have Seabourn as a comparison point. If you do anytime dining, are they good about pairing you up with suitable dining companions or is that touch lacking?

 

Celebrity Solstice will offer the best bang for your buck,Celebrity is good value and a better bet than Princess.

I have been on most lines over the years and Celebrity would be my choice over Princess, any day.

 

Princess is mainstream but on Celebrity you can have a luxury experience if you have the right suite and eat in the speciality restaurants.

 

Ofcourse by the time you have paid for all of the extras you are in the Seabourn price bracket.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Mr Luxury

[stretchslr]

We had a lovely voyage July 1012 aboard Silversea, 11 day voyage included Wrangel and the Anan bear observatory.

[cruising kirby]

I have cruised on Princess, Celebrity and Seabourn. I agree with other comments that Celebrity and Princess will be a different experience, especially if you are on a larger ship. However "different" doesn't have to be a bad thing, if you recognise and accept what the other lines offer. On Princess I recommend that you book a mini suite or suite, and on Celebrity a Sky Suite or Suite. Having been a Princess devotee for many years , I tried Celebrity and found their dining (especially in Blu and the specialty restaurants), to be a superior experience. Also in their Sky Suites and Suites you get a butler as well as a cabin steward and we were extremely happy with that level of service. Princess and Celebrity are not comparable to Seabourn, but at their pricing level, I don't expect them to be.

[jenidallas]

We had a lovely voyage July 1012 aboard Silversea, 11 day voyage included Wrangel and the Anan bear observatory.

 

Unfortunately the Silversea dates don't line up with my availability due to the convention I'm obligated to attend.

[Able Seaman H]

Another vote for Celebrity Solstice.

 

Our loyalty programme from Royal Caribbean extends to celebrity which helped, but as has been said already Suite guests enjoy extra privileges including a dedicated restaurant. What I would say is that the rest of the ship is not geared to the suite fares so an argument for booking a balcony cabin is you get very good value for money. At times we have felt that mainstream ships en mass don't live up to suite fares. But price is a very personal thing. For our next extended family cruise on Royal Caribbean we have a full suite.

 

The speciality dining on Solstice is good, I particularly enjoyed Murano where we had a deliscious lobster dish finished off at the table.

 

I struggled a bit with the layout of The Seaview Cafe buffet restaurant. Stations supposedly serving the same items actually had different foods meaning you were forced on an endless journey. Items were often missing or out of sync, fish with no chips and visa versa.

 

Service in the main dining room was dire to the point where we had to give up and miss deserts to catch a show. It was simply too slow. That will down to individual staff rather than an endemic failing. We also enjoy large tables for social reasons.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

 

Henry :)

[Desert Princess]

I have sailed on only 1 Princess cruise (Long Beach to Hawaii) and it was a horrible experience!! Food was really bad! Service was barely adequate! Would NEVER sail Princess again. I have not sailed Celebrity but have heard good things!

[ppiew]

We were on Celebrity Solstice and apart from the specialty dining (which was great!) the food, service, and experience in the MDR were horrible. The food was tasteless, the tables so close together you could hardly move, service was rushed, room was very noisy etc. after 2 attempts we went to the specialty restaurants the other 9 nites of our cruise.

[mariners]

Both Princess and Celebrity will be a totally different experience, but if you are open to sailing with many more passengers, less personalized service, and a large ship, I, too, would recommend Celebrity Solstice.

 

The beverage package makes it more like an all-inclusive as you don't have to sign for any drinks covered in the package although you do have to give them your card to be swiped each time. You can also upgrade the package to premium so that you can have a better selection of drinks.

 

If you are unhappy in the MDR, you can buy specialty dining restaurant packages and not eat in the MDR for dinner. If you are in Blu, you still have the choice of eating in the specialty restaurants if you want a change or don't like the selection. We have had both excellent and poor experiences in the MDR on Celebrity on different cruises. (We had good, not excellent or poor experiences in the MDR both times we sailed on Princess.)

 

We have always had excellent cabin attendants on both lines.

 

It could be easier to meet other passengers if you join the Cruise Critic Roll Call, go to specialized wine tastings, join tour groups, etc. Otherwise, I think that it could be difficult to find other people who have common interests and/or who you will even run into again on the ship.

 

There will be crowds when you are waiting to tender and/or waiting to go on a shore excursion. If you tour independently, crowds are not an issue unless you pick the same departure times/arrival times.

 

I haven't sailed the smaller ships on Princess like Jim Avery has so my comparisons are based on the larger ships. If the itinerary was better, I would likely choose Princess over Celebrity. It all depends upon what matters most to you.

[Keith1010]

You have been given a lot of excellent advice on this thread.

 

The key is to enjoy the cruise and not to spend anytime during the cruise comparing the two lines.

 

They will be two different experiences.

 

I would also add in a vote for Celebrity Solstice. I do prefer Celebrity over Princess and the Solstice will provide many more amenities than you will find on Princess.

 

I agree with Mariners recommendations on specialty restaurants. I found that the specialty restaurants with Celebrity come the closes to luxury lines.

 

The key is to just focus on what the cruise will offer. If these were land based hotels I would think of Seabourn being like a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton and Celebrity being more like a Hyatt and Princess being more like a Hilton. These land based hotels are all nice but there are differences and much of that is driven by their price.

 

Whatever you do, just enjoy.

 

Keith

[Able Seaman H]

Just a quick point on meeting people.

 

We have never struggled. In some ways mainstream cruises are easier to meet people because everyone (bar the odd person doing a back to back) gets on and off the ship on the same day. You are all in the same boat.

 

Whilst yes, there are lots of people you interact with smaller groups throughout the day. Your dining table, a particular bar you frequent, a quiz, bridge, excersise class or lecture group you attend.

 

Henry :)

[jenidallas]

Thanks to all - this has been very helpful and if anything, has confirmed my impressions of trying to read the other two forums. My TA has suggested that Celebrity would be more "age-aporopriate" because it's "trendy" (whatever either if those things mean!)

 

I like the comparison of Four Seasons versus Hyatt versus Hilton and that helps frame these well. I think Celebrity is definitely getting the edge in this comparison!

[CraftyEC]

I don't know the other ships but did sail on the Grand Princess last year and, in general, it was satisfactory, although obviously not the Seabourn experience. The weather on the cruise was not great (Oct / Nov, round trip from Southampton to the Canary Islands) and so passengers were not using the outside areas very much. We found that the inside areas were rather crowded - for example, I never really found anywhere other than our stateroom to read a book.

[Thecat123]

jenidallas you wonder what other cruise lines are like?

We are wondering the same thing but from the other side of things by moving up to a luxury cruise line as we have only cruised Holland America, Princess, MSC and Royal Caribbean and now we are moving up to Seabourn. Its a bit frightening for us to be on a Seaboun cruise for the first time wondering about dress codes, how to cruise with other passengers who have cruised with Seaborn many times and who seem to know all the crew, the correct way to hold the knife and fork, wondering what we are going to do wrong, etc etc :D

[Keith1010]

jenidallas you wonder what other cruise lines are like?

We are wondering the same thing but from the other side of things by moving up to a luxury cruise line as we have only cruised Holland America, Princess, MSC and Royal Caribbean and now we are moving up to Seabourn. Its a bit frightening for us to be on a Seaboun cruise for the first time wondering about dress codes, how to cruise with other passengers who have cruised with Seaborn many times and who seem to know all the crew, the correct way to hold the knife and fork, wondering what we are going to do wrong, etc etc :D

 

Just remember, event the most seasoned cruiser doesn't know all the do's/don't's of cruising. And everyone was a newbie to not only cruising but to whatever cruise line they sail. :)

 

It's always exciting to also do something for the very first time. :cool:

 

Keith

[Thecat123]

 

It's always exciting to also do something for the very first time. :cool:

 

Keith

 

And we pick Antarctica as well :)

Been checking Seabourns site every day following the Quest on their first cruise to Antarctica

Another month to go and can't wait :)

[Keith1010]

And we pick Antarctica as well :)

Been checking Seabourns site every day following the Quest on their first cruise to Antarctica

Another month to go and can't wait :)

 

It will be great. Fantastic itinerary.

 

Keith

[FKGirl]

I'll be on the Crown Princess next week (long story ) and will share my experience after the fact. But I will not be in a suite ...

 

For Alaska you may also want to see if Oceania has any itineraries that work for you.

[jenidallas]

For Alaska you may also want to see if Oceania has any itineraries that work for you.

 

The Oceania dates were not great but I decided to look anyway... but over $1,000 per night (per passenger) for a balcony room was a bit absurd, I thought!

[cwn]

Well everyone likes something different and this is JMO.

 

For us...we have sailed with Seabourn, Princess, Regent, Silver Seas, HAL, Celebrity and a long time ago NCL. Our favorites are the small Ocean and Pacific Princess and the larger Seabourn ships. Their itineraries/prices are of the best, at least for where we want to go. Plus the passengers are more singular in interest.

 

We have sailed on the newer large Princess ships and do not card for them, way too many people. We didn't care for the food or service on Celebrity and it was one of the least friendly cruises we have done, but it was some time ago. Maybe things have changed.

 

Years ago we went to Alaska on Princess before their ships got so big and Alaska got so popular! Wonderful cruises!

 

Did the Sapphire to Alaska a few years and would not do that large a ship in Alaska again. Went two years ago on the Amsterdam and found some of the same problems....lines long getting off and on the ship.

 

In fact we have cruised to Alaska 5 times and taken our RV there twice. It is like no other cruise, be it the Chilean Fjords, Norway, or New Zealand. The only place that beats Alaska is Antarctica! But like Antarctica, Alaska screams for a small ship, especially now that it gets so many cruise passengers..

 

If you have the Pacific Princess as an option and can get an aft suite, go for it. Those are wonderful suites and have a huge balcony which is perfect for Alaska. You will want to spend lots of time outside seeing the scenery! The service and perks for the full suites are very good including full room service from the MDR for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

We did a 3 week Ocean Princess and a Seabourn Pride cruise almost B2B in Asia and found little over all difference though maybe Seabourn had the edge service. The ships were not the same of course, but the Ocean Princess was very enjoyable and we always enjoy the Italian specials they cook for us. The Pacific is the sister to the Ocean and also the small Oceania ships.

 

The passengers on the small Princess ships are generally a well traveled group and very friendly. It does not bother us to sign for drinks and you can order wine by the bottle before meal times and several bottles at a time so we avoided signing by the glass in the Dinning Room.

 

Don't get me wrong the for the same itinerary I will pick a regular suite on one of the new Seabourn builds any time over a small Princess ship...or any other line any time. But for Alaska you need to be on a small ship. Another plus is Princess has great tours in Alaska especially pre and post. Though most ports can easily be done own your own.

[jenidallas]

Thanks! Keep the opinions coming... tomorrow is the day we'll likely put a deposit down but everything here is helping to reinforce some of what I've picked up (directly or by inference) by browsing the respective Celebrity and Princess forums.